Process for manufacturing merchandise containers



s. s. RYBURN 3,527,631

33 FOR MANUFACTURING MERCHANDISE CONTAINERS Sept. 8, 1970 PROCU OriginalFiled April 24, 1967 United States Patent ()thce 3,527,53l PatentedSept. 8, 11970 3,527,631 PROCESS FOR MANUFACTURING MERCHANDISECONTAINERS Sam S. Ryburn, Charlotte, N.C., assignor to Package ProductsCompany, Inc., Charlotte, N.C., a corporation of North Carolina Originalapplication Apr. 24, 1967, Ser. No. 633,221, now Patent No. 3,385,506,dated May 28, 1968. Divided and this application Jan. 30, 1968, Ser. No.701,626

Int. Cl. B31f 1/00 US. Cl. 156-202 6 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Aprocess for forming merchandise containers of thermoplastic materialeach having an advertising label attached to a closed end of thecontainer and an open end for filling the container, comprisinglongitudinally folding a sheet of thermoplastic material to formoverlying portions, positioning a web of label material along the foldin the sheet with a portion of the label material projecting outwardlyfrom the fold line in the sheet, adhering the label material to thesheet, severing the web of label material at longitudinally spacedintervals, and severing the folded thermoplastic sheet material whileheat-sealing the overlying portions thereof at longitudinally spacedintervals corresponding to the severed portions in the label material.

This application is a divisional application of my copending US. patentapplication Ser. No. 633,221 filed Apr. 24, 1967, now U.S. Pat. No.3,385,506, May 28, 1968, directed to products formed by the process ofthe present invention. The present invention relates to a process forforming merchandise containers or bags made of thermoplastic materialand each having an advertising label at tached to a closed end thereofand an open end for filling the container.

It is a current practice to package certain merchandise articles inheat-scalable, thermoplastic bags. Such bags are highly desirablebecause of their low cost, the ease by which articles may be enclosedand sealed therein, and the high transparency of the material whichfacilitates display of the packaged articles to prospective purchasers.Such bags are generally formed of a thin flexible film of polyethylene,polypropylene, or the like, and may be provided with a small hole oropening to permit the bags to be conveniently hung from a display rack.

To assist in identifying merchandise contained in the bags, it isdesirable to apply printed indicia to the bags describing the articlesenclosed therein. Because of the nature of thermoplastic material, anyprinting which is placed directly on the bag requires special processesand relatively expensive equipment and, for this reason, such printingis presently performed only by the bag manufacturer. In one type ofprinted bag manufacture, the bag maker fabricates a large number of bagsof a particular type while varying the print placed on the bags duringfabrication to cover the various sizes, prices, etc. of merchandisearticles to be placed therein. This type of preprinted bag is notentirely satisfactory since it requires the manufacturer to changeprinting equipment repeatedly during fabrication of a particular packagetype, and also requires the packager to maintain a large inventory ofdifferently printed bags in order to accommodate a merchandise article.

As an alternative method of identifying the contents of thermoplasticcontainers, the bag manufacturer may supply the packager with unprintedbags or bags printed with a more general form of indicia, such as brandname or merchandise type, and the packager then applies an additionaladvertising label to the bags during the packaging operation to identifythe particular size, color, price, etc. of the merchandise placedtherein. This form of merchandise identification also has disadvantagessince it requires the packager to maintain an inventory of both bags andlabels, and necessitates individual relabeling of the bags during orafter packaging. The attachment of labels by the packager is alsolimited to stapling or heat sealing, since rewettable type adhesivelabels cannot be satisfactorily adhered to thermoplastic material andthe pressuresensitive type adhesives are too expensive. Attachment bystapling and heat sealing is somewhat undesirable since metal staplesare quite dangerous to use in bags containing comestibles because of thepossibility of a customer inadvertently swallowing the same, and heatsealing the labels to the bags fuses the thermoplastic materialunderlying the label and reduces the capacity of the compartment area ofthe bag for the reception of merchandise.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a processfor manufacturing merchandise containers or bags having advertisinglabels attached there to which are formed of suitable material tofacilitate the application of additional printing or writing thereonwhich overcomes the disadvantages of the prior art.

It is another object to provide a continuous process for manufacturingheat-sealable merchandise containers or bags having printed labelssecured to an end thereof in such a manner as to provide full use of theinterior of the bag for filling the container and to permit hanging ofthe containers for display without breaking the sealed condition of thecontainers.

It is a more specific object to provide a novel process of folding asheet of thermoplastic material, attaching a printed label web to thethermoplastic material along the fold line therein, severing the labelWeb and cutting and sealing the plastic sheet material at correspondingintervals to form a plurality of merchandise receiving containers orbags having an opening in the end thereof opposite the label.

Some of the objects of the invention having been stated, other objectswill appear as the description proceeds, when taken in connection withthe accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary, schematic isometric view which illustrates thecontinuous process of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken along line 2-2 ofFIG. 1 and looking in the direction of the arrows;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged perspective view of a merchandise container of thepresent invention containing articles and hanging on a projection of adisplay rack;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary, sectional view of the merchandise bag, takengenerally along line 44 of FIG. 3.

Referring more specifically to the drawings and more particularly toFIG. 1, there is illustrated the preferred steps of the process of thepresent invention which include handling of an elongate sheet 10 ofthermoplastic material, such as polyethylene or polypropylene, which hasbeen longitudinally folded by conventional means (not shown) to formunderlying and overlying portions 11, 12.

Located adjacent the folded edge 13 of the sheet 10 is an elongate web14 of preprinted labels 15. The Web 14 is preferably formed of materialwhich may be readily printed or written upon such as paper, paperboard,aluminum foil or the like and is precut or notched in such a manner thatside edges 15a, 15b of each of the individual labels 15 arelongitudinally spaced from the side edges of the adjacent labels by thininterconnecting strips of material 16. This spaced relation of the sideedges of adjacent labels is important in the present manufacturingprocess, as will become apparent as the description of the processproceeds.

The sheet and label web 14 are withdrawn from respective supply sources(not shown) and moved in longitudinal direction by a pair of nip rolls21, 22 which are driven by conventional means, not shown. Duringmovement of the label web 14, it passes about a guide roller 23 and intogenerally parallel adjacent relation to the folded edge 13 of the sheet10 where it enters a label folding device 31 composed of an elongatechannel member 32 having joined side portions 33, 34 oflongitudinally-decreasing angular separation. As the web moves throughthe channel member, the side portions 33, 34 force the web into alongitudinally-folded condition and place it in a lapped, straddlingrelation over the fold in the sheet 10 so that a substantial portion 35of the web extends outwardly from the fold line in the sheet. As seen,the web may be scored or perforated along a midline 36 thereof tofacilitate the folding operation.

Thusly positioned, the Web and sheet move past a pair of adhesiveapplicator nozzles 37, 38 which are connected, by means of a suitablepump 39, to an adhesive supply source 40. The nozzles are positioned toextend between the engaging faces of the web 14 and sheet 10 on both thetop and bottom sides of the sheet, and as best seen in FIG. 2, have aplurality of small orifices 41 through which an adhesive material isdischarged against the inner faces 14a, 14b of the label web at a ratesufiicient to deposit a plurality of small lines 43, 44 of the adhesivetherealong. Although the type of adhesive used may be varied, a molten,quick-drying type is preferred so that, as the web and sheet areimmediately thereafter brought into contiguous relation by the nip rolls21, 22, the adhesive dries to firmly bond the overlying portions of theweb to the sheet. The opposing faces of the outwardly extending portion35 of the label may be sealed, as shown, or left unsealed, as desired,by eliminating the orifice 41 positioned at that portion of the labelweb.

The thus united sheet and label web move past a cutting device 51, shownas reciprocating knife blade 52, which is programmed by suitable meansto sever the web at the notches therein and through the narrow strips ofmaterial 16 extending between and connecting the side edges of theadjacent labels 15.

It is sometimes desirable to provide an opening or openings in the labelto facilitate support of the container, such as when the container is tobe hand carried or hung for display. In such cases, a punch device 53having an appropriately shaped cutting element is provided and isvertically reciprocated to perforate each of the moving severed labelsin the portion 35 thereof extending outwardly from the folded edge 13 ofthe thermoplastic sheet 10, thereby providing an appropriatelyshapedopening therein. By so locating the opening outside the folded edge ofthe thermoplastic sheet, the subsequently formed bags are not perforatedby the opening and can thus be maintained in a hermetically sealedcondition to protect the merchandise enclosed therein.

After cutting and punching of the labels, the folded sheet with theattached labels passes beneath a transversely-disposed, heated blade 56which extends over the full width of the folded thermoplastic sheet 10and is vertically reciprocated by suitable means (not shown) to contactthe sheet along a transverse line 57 extending between the spaced sideedges of the adjacent labels 15. Due to the previously cut notches inthe web of labels which provide the longitudinal spacing between theside edges 15b, 15a of the adjacent labels, the heated blade 56 is freeto contact the full width of the sheet 10 without interference with thelabels and melt the adjacent areas of the underlying and overlyingportions 11, 12 of the sheet to unite the same and sever the sheet intoa plurality of individual bag-like containers 61.

To insure that the supporting surface beneath the sheet material 10 doesnot become overheated by repeated engagement with the reciprocatingheated blade 56, a rotatable roller 62, formed of suitable heatresistant, relatively deformable material, such aspolytetrafluoroethylene, may be provided and rotated so as to present afresh surface to oppose the heated blade 56 during its engagement withthe sheet material. After separation, the labeled bags 61 areintermittently moved by a pair of nip rollers 63, 64 and stacked on acollection shelf 65. The bags 61 are of generally rectangular shape,three sides of which are closed and the fourth 66 of which, opposite thelabel 15, is left open for the reception of merchandise.

Filling of the individual bags by the packager can be accomplished in'avery simple manner through the open lower end of the bag. As seen inFIGS. 1 and 2, the contiguous portions 11, 12 of the thermoplastic sheet10 are folded unevenly, so that the underlying portion 11 projectsbeyond the lower edge of portion 12 to facilitate opening of the bag toinsert the merchandise. After filling, the open end may be heat sealedby suitable wire or cutting blade to hermetically seal the articleinside the bag.

Although the foregoing description sets forth a preferred process forforming the merchandise containers of the present invention, it shouldbe understood that the order of the individual steps of the process maybe varied, depending on the particular equipment and type of productionline desired. For example, the label punching step may occur prior tosevering the labels from the web, or the operation may be omittedentirely, as previously mentioned. Similarly, other means may beemployed to fold the label web over the thermoplastic sheet, e.g., oneside of the label may be adhesively sealed to the sheet prior tofolding, the web severed, and then the individual labels folded andtheir remaining side separately sealed to the underside of the sheet.

Although the labels of the containers of the present invention are shownand described as double-faced labels and are applied by folding them instraddling relation over the closed end of the bag, a single-faced labelof one thickness of material may also be applied to the folded end ofthe bag. In such case, the label folding step would be eliminated andthe folding device replaced by a suitable label web aligning guide so asto position the notched label correctly in lapped relation to the foldededge portion of the thermoplastic sheet.

FIGS. 3 and 4 show an enlarged view of one of the merchandise containers61 formed by the present process and containing a plurality of articlesA sealed therein. The container 61 comprises a main body 71 formed of apair of overlying panels 72, 73 (FIG. 4) of flexible thermoplasticmaterial which are joined along an end 13 and opposing sides 75, 76 toform a merchandise-receiving compartment or bag. A preprinted label 15straddles the upper closed end of the bag and extends sufiiciently abovethe closed upper end to be provided with hang opening 54 therein tofacilitate hanging the container for display. As seen, the hang opening54 is positioned so as to preclude perforation of the main body 71 ofthe container, thereby permitting merchandise in the bag to bemaintained therein at all times in a hermetically sealed condition. Byutilizing relatively rigid material for the label, the label 15effectively reinforces the upper edge portion of the bag not only duringfilling of the bag, but also to permit the bag to hang evenly from thedisplay projection 79. By utilizing a molten, quick-sealing type ofadhesive material to secure the label to the bag or main body, insteadof heat sealing or stapling the label to the bag, the portion B (FIG. 4)of the thermoplastic bag beneath the overlying portions 77a, 77b of thelabel can be retained to provide a larger bag capacity for the receptionof merchandise.

As is apparent from the foregoing description of the invention,preprinted header label bags of the thermoplastic type may bemanufactured in a continuous and inxpensive manner by maintaining theside edges of the portion of the label engaging the upper end of the bagspaced inwardly from the side edges of the bag so that the side edges ofthe thermoplastic bag are left free to be heat sealed during themanufacturing operation. Additionally, by providing the header label onthe closed end of the bag, the open end of the bag can be left free andunrestricted for the reception of merchandise during the packagingoperation.

In the drawings and specification there has been set forth a preferredembodiment of the invention and, although Specific terms are employed,they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not forpurposes of limitation, the scope of the invention being defined in theclaims.

Iclaim:

1. A process for manufacturing containers for merchandise and the likecomprising the steps of (a) longitudinally folding a sheet of flexiblethermoplastic material to form overlying portions,

(b) positioning a web of label material along the fold line in thethermoplastic material with a portion of the label material extendingoutwardly from the fold line therein and the remaining portion of thelabel material lapping a portion of the thermoplastic material,

() adhering the lapped portion of the label material to thethermoplastic material,

((1) severing the Web of label material at longitudinally spacedintervals therealong, and

(e) severing the folded thermoplastic material while heat sealing theoverlying portions thereof at longitudinally spaced intervalscorresponding to the severed portions in said label material to form aplurality of article-receiving containers.

2. A process as define-d in claim 1 in which the web of label materialis positioned along the fold line in the thermoplastic material bylongitudinally fold-ing the web over the fold in the thermoplasticmaterial in straddling relation thereto.

3. A process as defined in claim 2 including adhering the inner faces ofthe portion of the folded web of label material projecting outwardlyfrom the fold line in the thermoplastic material to each other.

4. A process as defined in claim 2 wherein said web of label materialhas longitudinally spaced, opposing pairs of notches extending generallytransversely inwardly from side edges of the web throughout the portionlapping the thermoplastic material and wherein the severing of the weboccurs at longitudinally spaced intervals corresponding to the positionof the longitudinally spaced notches therein, and the opposing edges ofthe label material forming each of said notches being sufficientlyspaced from each other to permit said severing and heat sealing of saidfolded thermoplastic material without contacting the label material.

5. A process as defined in claim 1 including the step of perforating theportion of the label material projecting outwardly from the fold line ofthe thermoplastic material at spaced intervals between the severingintervals to permit insertion of a support projection therethrough forhanging display of said containers.

6. A process as defined in claim 1 wherein the web of label material haslongitudinally spaced notches extending generally transversely inwardlyfrom the side edge of the portion of the label material lapping thethermoplastic material and wherein the severing of the web occurs atlongitudinally spaced intervals corresponding to the position of thelongitudinally spaced notches therein, and the opposing edges of thelabel material forming each of said notches being sufiiciently spacedfrom each other to permit said severing and heat sealing of the foldedthermoplastic material without contacting the label material.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,721,023 10/1955 Phipps 229623,016,983 1/1962 Studley '229- 62 3,148,598 9/1964 Davis l5*6202 X3,166,457 1/ 1965 Nichols l5'6269 3, 28,220 6/1967 Harding l56202 SAMUELW. ENGLE, Primary Examiner U.S. Cl. XrR. 156--216, 251, 269

